There are millions of pets in the United States. This results from the prevalent belief that pets are good companions for children and provide good training for children in caring for others. It also results in part from the companionship which pets offer to single persons, to married couples and to persons of advanced age.
People in the United States travel often these days, either for personal pleasure or for business purposes. Such travelers frequently take their pets with them on these trips. Generally such travelers have to bring carriers or have to rent or purchase carriers from the airlines, railroads or buses to house their pets during the travel. It is expensive to rent or purchase such pet carriers. Furthermore, the purchased or rented carriers are not comfortable to the pets. If rented, the carriers have to be returned to the airline, the railroad or the bus operator at the end of the trip. If purchased, the carriers are generally not retained by the buyer at the end of the trip because they are bulky and inconvenient to store.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,048,147 issued to J. O. McKean on Aug. 7, 1962, for xe2x80x9cPortable Collapsible Shipping Kennel For Animalsxe2x80x9d discloses an expandable and collapsible carrier for pets. However, the kennel lacks certain features which would cause the carrier to be adopted by pet owners. For example, the kennel does not provide a satisfactory arrangement for maintaining the kennel in an expanded (or open) relationship and for maintaining the kennel in a collapsed relationship.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,131 issued to Edward Richmond on Sep. 23, 1997 for an xe2x80x9cAnimal Carrierxe2x80x9d provides a pet carrier which is easily operated manually between opened and collapsed relationships and which is easily and reliably maintained in the opened and collapsed relationships. Mr. Richmond is the sole inventor listed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,131 and has assigned this patent of record to a corporation owned and controlled by Mr. Richmond.
This invention provides a pet carrier which is similar in a number of details of construction to the pet carrier disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,131. However, the pet carrier of this invention provides certain advantages over the prior art including the prior art represented by U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,131. It provides for an easy and comfortable transport by the pet owner of the pet carrier in either the open or collapsed relationships of the pet carrier. This is provided by coupling straps to clasps on the carrier in relationships to provide for a manual grasping of the straps to hold the carrier by hand at the owner""s side in either the open or collapsed relationships of the carrier.
In other relationships of attachment to the pet carrier, the straps support the carrier on the owner""s shoulders in the collapsed relationship of the carrier with the carrier disposed against the owner""s side or back. The strap(s) can also be used as a leash for the pet when the strap(s) are detached from the clasps on the carrier and are attached to the pet collar of the pet. The carrier further provides for a reliable disposition of the carrier in either the open or collapsed relationship and for an easy and quick conversion of the carrier between the open and collapsed relationships.
In the preferred embodiment, a pet carrier expandable to hold a pet and collapsible to suitcase size includes a pair of platforms and first and second pairs of spaced walls. The walls in the first pair (e.g. front and rear) are pivotably attached at opposite ends to the platforms and are hinged at intermediate positions for collapsing or opening the carrier. The walls (e.g. side) in the second pair are pivotable toward an individual one of the platforms, with the platform as a fulcrum, to collapse the carrier and are pivotable toward the other platform to open the carrier. Resilient members at the bottom of the walls in the first pair releasably engage the walls in the second pair in the relationship for maintaining the carrier open. The resilient members are constrained to provide for a pivotal movement of the walls in the second pair to the carrier""s open relationship.
Straps engage clasps on the top platform in different relationships to provide for a manual transport of the carrier by the pet owner with (a) the carrier opened or collapsed and disposed at the pet owner""s side near the owner""s knees, (b) the carrier collapsed and disposed at the owner""s side near the chest and the straps disposed over one shoulder and (c) the carrier collapsed and disposed against the owner""s back and the straps disposed over the owner""s shoulders. The straps may be decoupled from the carrier clasps and may be used as a leash which is attached to a collar on the pet""s neck. The straps may have handles at intermediate positions to provide comfort to the owner when the straps are disposed on the shoulder(s) or grasped by the owner""s hand.